In Memory

Vernon L Thompson

Still Missed

by John Olp

Vern was a good man. He survived his tour of duty in Vietnam, where he served as a door gunner on a Huey, only to die in a traffic accident in 1975 during a snowstorm the day after Thanksgivng. Vern, his wife Kathy, and their two dogs were on their way home to Spokane from Pasco, when the accident occured a few miles south of Ritzville. If only they could have made it to the freeway.

His mother, who we called 'Mrs T,' and was a wonderful woman never recovered from his loss. It's safe to say that many others, including my daughter Erin, my former wife, Joan, and her brother, Dennis, as well as myself, have yet to recover either. It's been almost 35 years Vern, but you are still missed.